Water supplies expand into remote areas

With 90 percent of its rural population already having access to tap water, China will strive to ensure such safe drinking water reaches one-fifth of the remaining rural residents this year, even though most of them live in sparsely-populated areas where water is scarce, the Ministry of Water Resources said.

China saw rural water coverage reach 90 percent at the end of last year, meaning that the country beat its target of increasing the proportion to 88 percent two years earlier than planned, said Xu Dezhi, deputy director-general of the ministry's department of rural water and hydropower.

He said the achievement follows the ministry's endeavors to integrate urban and rural water supplies while promoting both large and small rural water supply systems in light of local conditions.